The Practice, An Anchor in Uncertainty ~ Wed, Feb 3, 7:30-9pm

AN ANCHOR in UNCERTAINTY

Have you ever felt uncertain?  Is there anything you’re uncertain about now?  So many of us are finding ourselves faced with the “unknown” right now...around work, relationships, finance, where to live, doing work that we feel aligned with and being abundantly compensated for it, and more.  There are anchors during times of uncertainty.  Come ready to discover yours, or deepen your relationship with an existing anchor.  When it’s time to shed an old layer of skin, like a snake does, if you don’t know what’s on the inside, what you can trust, it can feel like a part of you is dying...like there may be something to fear and pull back from, when moving forward is best.  Come anchor into the breath...let it guide you towards deeper roots into clarity, trust, faith, and knowing.  It’s time, and you’re ready...even if you don’t know what you’re ready for!


Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010  7:30-9:00pm

We’re calling this event THE PRACTICE, and it’s for ALL levels of experience with the Breath.  It happens for now in the sanctity of my healing space in West Hollywood.  Reserve your space as soon as you know you’ll be coming, as it fills up quickly...

We’ll set some intention very quickly in the beginning, and then get right down to the business of the Breathwork; an ancient 3-part breathing meditation that takes you beyond the dream of the limited ego experience....into the space of GRACE, the space of KNOWING, the space of deep REJUVENATION.

This is designed to be a place to work deeply with the breath and build /strengthen the muscles for your home practice.

ARRIVE on-time or better yet, early.  No one will be admitted after the breathwork begins to honor and support the safe space created for The Work.

When:   Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010
Time:       7:30-9:00pm

Exchange:   $40  (no one turned away)

Where:  1226 Havenhurst Dr. #9
                (Havenhurst is 1 block West of Crescent Heights between Santa Monica Blvd and Fountain Ave)

Parking:    It’s best to park at a meter on Santa Monica Blvd or in the West Hollywood City Lot just South of Santa Monica Blvd behind Out Of The Closet between Havenhurst and La Jolla.  The City Lot is $1 per hour in quarters.  Other meters in the area are free after 6pm.

RSVP:      Due to size of the space, please RSVP to hold your place.  If need be, we’ll start a waiting list. 24hrs cancellation by phone. (310) 922-4890

BRING:      A folded blanket and/or yoga mat to lay on for the breathing meditation, water, and a smile!

LOVE,
SCOTT
http://trustthebreath.com
http://scottschwenk.blogspot.com

And Now the Laughing Begins

And Now the Laughing Begins

Riding the currents of 
Breath,
Not knowing whose
Yet sensing it as
Yours.


On certain days,
The surf pounding 
Against the gritty sand of
Fruitless mentation,
Agitation,
Irritation...


Only love
Caressing
Love.


Each sitting
A little warmer.


The thaw 
deepening towards 
a seeming icy core of
self-imposed
albeit
unconscious
holding back
separation
from You.


Each sitting
A little less familiar
A little less me
One less pair of 
Prada sunglasses
Reached for.
Less need for shielding.


I am the Light 
I've been protecting myself from.


And now the laughing
begins.

Scott Patrick Schwenk     1/26/10

Transformational Bodywork is Back!!

That’s right!  I’ve been nudged by my intuition to start offering bodywork again for a period of time...

Some of you have experienced it, some are in for a new treat!

The sessions consist of foot-reflexology, structural integration, deep-tissue, and somatic rebalancing.  Each session is journey of it’s own, and happens in the sanctity of the warm, cozy, quiet healing space I’ve cultivated here in West Hollywood for nearly 5 years.

As you enter the space, you’ll feel your shoulders begin to drop a little lower, and your nerves soften.  The sessions will begin with foot reflexology to help you ground and root deeper through your body and from there, journey around your body bringing it into alignment, ease, and fluid breath.

What are the logistics?

• $125/hr  $175/90min
• 24hrs+ cancellation policy
  

The work has been featured in Variety, Daily Candy, Splendora, Allure’s “Best Of” Directory, Lucky Magazine, and MTV’s Undefeated, among others.

To schedule your first session, call (310) 922-4890.

Love,
Scott
http://trustthebreath.com
http://scottschwenk.blogspot.com

Klearing Karma

"The attribution of reality to that which arises in the mind is the cause of all human suffering." ~Krishna Menon

No one worth their salt, who's danced a few dances all the way to completion, would ever say that clearing karma is easy.  Worth it?  Absolutely!  Easy?  ...For the deeper karmas (imprints of past conditioning)? Rarely.

Why is that?

Because it takes standing in a more expanded level of consciousness with Awareness...a consciousness more expanded than that of the imprint being cleared, to release the past.

For example.  As any of you who know me well, or who've been following this blog, know...I've been working diligently around releasing the energy stored in my financial debt (illusions around self-love, money, value, worth, and debt) through conscious awareness, conscious choices, and conscious actions in every area of my life.

Getting on the phone with any of my creditors or bankers can be a profound exercise in being more conscious in my awareness, choices, and actions.  I have to know that any of these calls can be laden with opportunities for me to feel frustrated, angry, dis-respected, and under-exchanged with.  If those feelings arise, and I'm not conscious of the arising, these feelings can come through my tone, words, and strong psychic energy...the underlying feeling of attack from a position of victim could arise.

My job in these interactions is to stay clear and grounded, to keep choosing to stay open, patient, and in self-love.  When I wobble (which I have), when I reach for heavy-handed energy and speech to get my needs met (which I can), I must back-track...return to self-love...apologize to the human being on the other end of the phone...and restore the interaction to the best of my ability, back to a human interaction....an interaction where I'm not unconsciously making anyone feel responsible (or irresponsible) for navigating my finances....where I'm the most educated and committed person on my financial team.

I just got off of one of these types of calls with Chase about the long-weekend and the availability of one of my deposits.  Here it is five days later, and the deposit still won't be available until tonight at midnight.  After the funds-clearing law changed a while back, banks made it known that they'd be instantly collecting on funds.  For example, if I write you a check and you deposit it today, your bank instantly collects that money into their accounts, but waits a full business day or more until making that money available to your account.  There is a lag time between when the bank collects the money and when you get to use it.  As a former Washington Mutual customer (before Chase bought Wamu), all my deposits were credited to my account on the day they were deposited (based on my established good banking history with Wamu).  Now that it's a new bank and a new day, the rules have changed.  

It's up to me to get clear about the new rules and plan accordingly.  Regardless of whether I feel the rules are fair and just, or not, if I choose to continue doing business with Chase, it behooves me to know and align my business practices with their rules, or leave and find another bank.  Being angry and upset isn't going to change the rules of a huge behemoth of a financial institution.

Being clear and informed will change my relationship with the institution.

I did start to get upset with the customer service person on the other end of the phone when she couldn't give me specific information about my funds availability.  I did begin to leverage a strong amount of psychic energy and could feel my solar plexus tighten, letting me know I was moving towards a battle of will.

While on hold, I took myself and the phone up to my roof garden.  I cradled the phone between my shoulder and ear, while holding the thick green vibrant stems of the tobacco plants in the garden.  I opened my heart, felt my feet grow roots into the ground below, and gently asked the spirit of the tobacco to help give me the spiritual strength to release all attachments to the past around self-love, money, value, and debt...to root deeper into self-love, my faith, and exchange with the Universal Energy Flow....to open my Heart wider and ground this opening into my thoughts, words, feelings, and actions.

When the rep came back on the line, I had softened.  She gave me the clear, relevant, and specific information that I needed.  Then I spoke to her very personally.  I let her know I appreciated her help...that I apologized for getting intense with her, that I realized she must get a number of these calls everyday in this economy, that it must be difficult to interact with.  I was using this time to call back any intensity I had sent her way, to call it back to myself to be digested and released.

She softened as well.  She apologized for not giving me the information I needed, for herself being short and frustrated.  I was her last call of the day after a very long and wearing day of similar calls.  She said that she had learned a lot from our call.  I could hear the humanity coming back into her voice.

We were two human beings connecting openly.

I truly believe these intentional exchanges add up and heal relationships and groups of all sizes over time.  I had to choose to reach past my frustration, past the need to be right (all loaded into the energy of the past) and extend a hand to this living breathing human being.  It felt challenging and uncomfortable for a a couple of minutes, but as we both opened, the flow in the opening lifted and expanded us both.  

Sunday 1/24: Breathwork @ The Hub ~ The Circle Part 2, 5:30-7pm

the CIRCLE: Giving & Receiving Are One ~ Part 2

Next Sunday night, we’ll move into Part 2 (**don’t worry if you missed Part 1, Part 2 can stand on its own!).  We’ll connect with a deeper experience of Wholeness...the felt presence of Fullness and Completion in which Love is freely and abundantly exchanged; Where giving and receiving are One.  This is an area in which I’m making deep personal study a focus...in exchanging with You, the Breath, and Awareness, we’ll all go deeper.  As a support, you might consider ordering David Elliott’s newest book Healing (copies will also be available Friday night).  It can be found in hard-copy or MP3 versions at http://davidelliott-healing.com

When:       Part 2 ~ SUNDAY night 1/24/10  5:30-7pm   
                    ((Arrive early to avoid being late))

Exchange:       $35

Where:      The Hub (http://thehub-la.com)
                    2001 S Barrington Ave, Suite 150, Los Angeles, CA 90025-5363 US
                    { S Barrington Ave between LaGrange and Mississippi }
                    Entrance for the Hub is located on street level at the ground floor of the
                    parking structure located on South Barrington Avenue.
Bring:          Yoga mat and/or blanket-we'll be sitting on the floor at first then lying down
                     for the breathwork.

RSVP:        You can reserve your spot through The Hub  310-575-4200

Love,
Scott
http://trustthebreath.com
http://scottschwenk.blogspot.com

Tremendous Amount of Energy

Tremendous Amount of Energy

Yep.

A lot.

The grand option of
Frittering it away in
Mindless twittering,
Flitting,
Flirting with emptiness
And not the kind
So full of contentment
As to thwart
Ego's incessant
Conniving
Pleading, and
Conning for more
Square footage.

how very 1986.

Moving on
Is moving In.

Nowhere to go
Nothing to do
No one to be.

Let the masks
Fall where they may
Clattering to the hardwood
to end the clammering
For flattery.

Just This.


Scott Patrick Schwenk     1/16/10

When Intuition Opposes Evidence

                                   Lakshmi Puja for all forms of wealth (love, exchange, wisdom, money)

I've got a situation in my life that feels off.

Initially, I got very excited about potentially doing a piece of business outside of the healing work.  At the time the idea sparked for me, my bank account was letting me know I was running on fumes.  When my bank account looks like it's running on fumes (real-world evidence), I can give a portion of my mind and energy over to worry.  When this arises, it's crucial for me to take the steps immediately to get clear and grounded.

In this case, the idea itself to engage in new business had enough energy around it that it felt clear and grounding.  I felt better emotionally with the arising of this possibility.    

However, the person I've been discussing doing business with keeps falling off the radar.  

On paper, all of his business dealings look great to me...lots of positive feedback from clients, etc.  But he keeps missing appointments with me for odd reasons, letting communications fall out, and continues to let me know that this doesn't happen with other people.  

He's urged me to connect with his other clients to hear about their positive experiences.  And I'm sure I'd hear great things if I did reach out to them.

However, something is off.  And even if this is the first time in this man's life, it is off.  And what is off in him has been connecting to me through the insecurity opened up through my financial concern.  I am seduceable by things external to me when I am not clear about these places within myself.  I am seduceable by things that appear like they'll deliver something great, but in the end deliver drama or nothing at all.

To be clear, this friend is an awesome human being.  An awakening has dawned within him that has bolstered his ability to help many people.  And, it's not finished yet.  There's further to go.  How do I know?  I don't through my intellect or five senses.  And I do through intuition.  I have very little, if any, outer evidence for knowing this about him.

When I separate out any need for my life to look differently than how it is at the moment...when I grow deeper roots into contentment, into the awareness that All Is Well, that as I trust and love myself more deeply in tangible, real, and palpable ways, I am able to be supported across the boards by the Universe.  I am able to let this support in...to receive.  It doesn't have to come in expected or known ways.  When I step deeper into that "knowing", I have more space to check in with and trust intuition.

Intuition tells me to wait and be patient about getting into business with this friend.  That he is entering into a deeper process within himself, and that now is the time for me to hold a space for him, without needing anything from him.  That now is not the time to be building a new business with him.

The time could come, and I don't have to struggle or strain to make that time be now.  I'm interested in more ease in my life, more fluid exchanges, more space for Grace to flow.  If I have to struggle and strain to make something happen, it may not be for me, or may not be for me right now.

What if I stay consistent with these practices of self-love, clearing, grounding, and deepening my relationship with intuition?

I become more aware of where the real timely opportunities are, rather than being seduced by shiny twinkling things that end up using up a lot of my life-force and aren't yet able to fully deliver what they promise.

And to my friend, when you read this, thank you for being a part of the process of my deepening trust in myself and the process of life.  I have deep respect and love for you.  I am sure we have walked together down many roads in the past.  I am sure there are more walks ahead.  I release you from any energy of being responsible for my well-being that I may have projected onto you.

Does being needed = Love?

How many years did I cultivate ways to be needed as a way to get love?  Seems like it started around age 4 when my Dad had a big identity crisis that pushed him to clean out the bank accounts and leave town to find himself with no intention of returning (albeit without announcing any of this in advance to my mother or me).  I came downstairs to find my mother, having just put the pieces together, in pieces crying in the dark on the living room sofa.  At that moment, I lost my innocence.  My mother's pain was so big for her that she had become completely withdrawn in that moment.  Very scary for a sensitive, empathic little boy. The only way I knew to connect was to become the fixer...to be needed.  On a non-verbal, pre-rational level, I stopped trusting love and closed my heart, surrounding it with a thick coating of fear that promised to protect me and keep me safe from any future pain.

I spent years, and thousands of hours and dollars pouring over books, teachings, and teachers to become invaluable...indispensible, and needed.  The energy that came back to me in moments where I was needed was generally not love, and if indeed it was love, I could rarely feel it as love, given the saran-wrap of fear surrounding my heart.  Real love triggered fear of abandonment...and a whole set of reflexes bent on proving my value and worth correlate with the degree of love coming my way.  All this created was drama, power-struggles, and deep loneliness to feel seen, heard, and included...a feeling of being invisible, except for the times when I would be able to come to someone's rescue.

There have been many deep moments of love and connection in my life.  However, my ability to root deeply into them through self-love was fleeting.  Training to become a healer has been my education about Love.  Through learning how to help other people connect to Truth and Love, I have been taken on the same journey.  This journey has no end.  Just as the Universe continues to expand and create more life, there seems to be infinite depth to the realization and embodiment of Love.  Love without a reason, Love without a cause, Love without any conditions.

The more I love me, the more I feel love for everything and from everything.  When I'm believing the insane voice of insecurity, there's no love...just power struggles with all of life that don't go anywhere expansive or uplifting.

The latest catalyst came my way in June of this year as I was reading early drafts of my friend and mentor David Elliott's second book HEALING.  I've been hearing about self-love for years.  Something in me was ready to let self-love wake up within me in palpable and grounded ways in the last number of months.  Something about me has irrevocably opened to Love.  Every aspect of my life is a different experience because of it.  Remarkably different.  Even my body.  And for all the transformation that's gone down in the last number of months, I know I've only begun to scratch the surface of what's possible.  

I'd say it's the first exercise in the book...the one that asks me to make a list of all the ways I love myself...to do this daily until it becomes easy to recognize and feel.  Working with this exercise day-in and day-out...remembering, forgetting, remembering, forgetting, remembering, and remembering.....

The gold in this book is in the practicing.  It's in cultivating the discipline long enough to out-create the illusions of being separate, alone, insecure, unworthy, etc.  Are you worth it?  I know I am.  And from my point-of-view, either everyone is worth it, or no one is.  We are all worth it.  That's just how it is.

Today I was with a new friend for a delicious home-made lunch.  I met him fairly recently, and noticed a deep attraction arising on my end that I had thought was mutual.  However, as I leaned into it a little deeper in the last few days, I noticed that there was a strong sexual energy moving through me when I thought of him that wasn't moving through my heart.  There were two distinct flavors in my experience of my energy while thinking of him:  one of the spiritual seeker with a big heart within him, the other as pure physical desire.

This morning, prior to our lunch, I was meditating.  In meditation, my intuition suggested there was likely some sexual abuse energy around the friend that was triggering old patterns in me that were rooted in similar energy...an old energy that says things like, "Take a short-cut...sex will get you the love and intimacy you crave," and other lies.  As it was arising, I was guided to connect more deeply to self-love and be willing to see that this person may indeed not be a romantic partner for me at this time.  That this may be a relationship that teaches me more about clarity with love and clarity with what love is not.

At lunch, he was sharing about a family member with addiction prominently in her life.  I smelled the energy of sexual abuse, and took the risk of asking...at which point, he shared that not only did she have it, but he too had sexual abuse in his life at an early age.  This energy that he carries, that I have been looking at within myself, is very psychic.  It can spot other people with similar energies stored or suppressed in their body and emotions and stimulate it to make a connection that is not based on love, but based on neediness and insecurity.  

Putting this on the table in our conversation; establishing that at this time our relationship is not set up to be a romantic one, gives both of us the freedom to be honest, risk opening our hearts a little wider, and share in the journey of healing.

The more each of us steps into courage and speaks and writes about these energies, the sooner Love, real Love, will become easier to spot and connect with.

It is time to lay aside the illusions -- the anger, fear, and sadness do not protect us.  They do not nurture us.  They have become adept at creating the illusion of love.  It is time for LOVE.  Love is not a peak experience, it is not something that can be given or taken.  Love can only be demonstrated within oneself, within myself.  As I love myself in your presence, something powerful happens.  And it's always amazing to me.

David's book, with the exercises, and breathing meditations are one of the cleanest supports I've seen for this awakening.

This Friday @ The Hub ~ The Circle Part 1 8-9:30pm

the CIRCLE: Giving & Receiving Are One ~ Part 1

This Friday night, we’ll connect with a deeper experience of Wholeness...the felt presence of Fullness and Completion in which Love is freely and abundantly exchanged; Where giving and receiving are One.  This is an area in which I’m making deep personal study a focus...in exchanging with You, the Breath, and Awareness, we’ll all go deeper.  As a support, you might consider ordering David Elliott’s newest book Healing (copies will also be available Friday night).  It can be found in hard-copy or MP3 versions at http://davidelliott-healing.com

When:       Part 1 ~ FRIDAY night 1/15/10  8-9:30pm   
                    ((Arrive early to avoid being late))

Exchange:       $35

Where:      The Hub (http://thehub-la.com)
                    2001 S Barrington Ave, Suite 150, Los Angeles, CA 90025-5363 US
                    { S Barrington Ave between LaGrange and Mississippi }
                    Entrance for the Hub is located on street level at the ground floor of the
                    parking structure located on South Barrington Avenue.
Bring:          Yoga mat and/or blanket-we'll be sitting on the floor at first then lying down
                     for the breathwork.

RSVP:        You can reserve your spot through The Hub  310-575-4200

Love,
Scott
http://trustthebreath.com
http://scottschwenk.blogspot.com

30 Days + of Gratitude ~ Day 30

A day late on this entry.  Hmmm....and it's "Day 30"....might I have a little something around completing?  Could be.  I'll marinate in it today and see what arises.  Given that I'm still in a human suit, anything is possible.  All bets are off until the fat lady sings 'total liberation'...and at this point that's a concept....one I resonate with as real, but a concept nonetheless.  And given that the Universe is continuing to expand, there'd likely never be an endpoint of Realization.

1. I am grateful essential oils.  These are the lifeforce of plants condensed and extracted, carrying so much information, healing, and wisdom.  The deeper I trust myself in the presence of these teachers, the easier it is to learn from them without having to involve my intellect.  This too is an evolution, and I'm deeply enjoying the process.
2. I am grateful for having learned to have fun at my own events, whether they're workshops, parties, or dinners.  Thank you David Elliott for always stating the intention to have Fun first and foremost...it's a marker on my inner compass for which I'll always be grateful.
3. I am grateful for the opportunity to preview the audio of David Elliott's newest book HEALING over the weekend.  Profound doesn't cover the experience for me, and seems like so many of the words that speak to greatness and impact have been over-laden with marketing energy in the western world.  However, I know that as I let myself "feel" what I want to communicate, the written words are imbued with that feeling and take expression beyond the intellect into the Heart.
4. I am grateful for the nudge from intuition to reach into self-love and be of service when I'm beginning to be seduced by the illusion of not feeling loved or supported by someone or something outside of myself.  This takes practice, and I'm actively engaged with it every day.  I know I can and will work deeper into this.  It is my biggest gift to all of my relationships ~ loving myself so completely that I don't need anyone.  In the words of my singer-songwriter friend Rob MacMullan in his song "Open Heart", "What if I did not need you, and you did not need me, but still we chose to be together, build a bridge between us two?"
5. I am grateful for my body...it is so willing to accept and be quickly responsive to any and all of the nurturing I'm willing to give it.  I think this is in part a function of many years of a (mostly) healthy lifestyle.  And even more a function of my ever deepening self-love.  I know I may sound to some like a broken record around self-love.  I am okay with that.  I will continue to share about my work with self-love, and don't see a future where it's ever irrelevant.  Again, deep bows to David Elliott and all his alliances for bringing teachings around self-love and exchange into the world in modern parlance that those of us growing up in the instant-gratification generations and beyond can connect with.

30 Days + of Gratitude ~ Day 29

1. I am grateful to all the writers who've come before me, and to those writing right now.  Your willingness to be inspired, courage to express the inspiration and share it, and your discipline to keep opening to the inspiration and expressing no matter what are a palpable support for me and all writers to be supported by.  Thank you!
2. I am grateful to the Bees who keep showing up around me outside (noticeably) for the last 6+ months when I'm opening my heart.  You bookmark the power and sweetness of grounded Love so I remember it, and ingrain it as the go-to choice in every moment.  You teach me to stay at one flower long enough to gather nectar, while also not overly harvesting from any one flower.
3. I am grateful to the ever deepening impulse to clean and organize ALL aspects of my life, not just the ones that are visibly obvious to others.  "How you do anything is how you do everything." ~ David Elliott
4. I am grateful for the power of collaboration.  I'm just now leaning into this power with more active trust.  So much can be accomplished by a group of committed wisdom-keepers coming together in a grounded way.  I invite more conscious, inspired, grounded collaboration to come into my life, my business, and my playtime in ways that benefit all involved, and rippling out to all of our relations.
5. I am grateful to the power of meditation, dhyaana.  You continue to teach me ever more deeply how to focus powerfully without the use of forceful will.  I intend to cultivate and expand my relationship with you much more this year, and all the days to follow.

On Writing

Brilliant Advice on Writing from Anne Rice, on her website (posted 6/15/09):

"On writing, my advice is the same to all. If you want to be a writer, write. Write and write and write. If you stop, start again. Save everything that you write. If you feel blocked, write through it until you feel your creative juices flowing again. Write. Writing is what makes a writer, nothing more and nothing less. --- Ignore

critics. Critics are a dime a dozen. Anybody can be a critic. Writers are priceless. ---- Go where the pleasure is in your writing. Go where the pain is. Write the book you would like to read. Write the book you have been trying to find but have not found. But write. And remember, there are no rules for our profession. Ignore rules. Ignore what I say here if it doesn't help you. Do it your own way.

--- Every writer knows fear and discouragement. Just write. --- The world is crying for new writing. It is crying for fresh and original voices and new characters and new stories. If you won't write the classics of tomorrow, well, we will not have any. Good luck."

30 Days + of Gratitude ~ Day 28

New squash plants coming up in the garden!

1. I am grateful for the workshops I lead.  There are so many opportunities that arise before, during, and after the workshops for my awareness to be honed, both about myself and people, as well as specificity with intuition.  The depth of learning never stops.
2. I am grateful for living in an area that has so many walkable destinations nearby for just about anything.
3. I am grateful for my deepening fascination with and enjoyment of processes over end results.  Don't get me wrong, I still have a predilection for results.  However, especially since building and planting the garden last spring and moving through one growing season, my appreciation for what it takes to stick with the seeds of intention and focus long enough to produce a harvest has made a strong palpable shift that continues to reveal and reveal and reveal with more and more clarity each and every day.
4. I am grateful for dogs.  Having just walked in from a late dinner with a friend, post-workshop...I'm fresh from being with one of the most beautiful dogs a few tables away.  We locked eyes the moment I sat down, and couldn't stop looking at each other through the entire dinner.  In general, I find that dogs are so easy to connect with heart-to-heart, spirit-to-spirit.  The fear and resistance that most humans carry around intimacy seems mostly non-existent with dogs.  I eagerly await my first dog.  I try not to think about it to much, because it tugs on my heart in an achey longing way. There will be a time and a home that will be right for me to welcome in this companion, and I can't wait :)
5. I am grateful for my contentment with my home.  I'm coming up on 5 years in this apartment, and rarely does a day go by that I don't look around this place with huge appreciation and gratitude for it on so many levels.  While I do want a dog, and this building doesn't allow them, there's so much about this building and apartment that I deeply appreciate.  It is a home for me!

30 Days + of Gratitude ~ Day 27

Having been in deep retreat in the mountains of New Mexico over New Years, my writing got a bit off schedule.  There've been a couple of double-entries of Gratitude in this series.  I'm being nudged intuitively to finish out the series going back to the single entry of five points for each day.  Still feeling into whether I'll continue the series beyond 30 days on this blog, and if so, for how long.  I'm still experimenting with the flow of writing through this blog.  My sense at the moment is that some other pieces are ready to have creative focus in the blog writing.

1. I am grateful for the power of firewalking this past Saturday, Jan 2nd.  If memory serves me, I took my 7th and 8th walks across the burning coals that night.  For me, at this time, it's an affirmation and a demonstration (to myself) of my faith in the Reality that transcends, and includes, what my five senses report.  There's far more to the process than I'll include here, and I would say I'm very much a student of the many lessons around fire, with much to integrate and discover along the way.  I can't speak for other walks led by other teachers or groups, but with the ones I've experienced, there's no gimmick.  Having been involved in helping with the preparation from the gathering of the wood all the way to supporting the walkers, I can say that the fire is real, very hot, and commands respect and humility in order to not be burned.  That is a lesson I'm continuing to learn about every powerful tool or medicine along the path.  Anything that holds great power for Awakening can easily be twisted and misused by the ego, and this is where the harder lessons seem to come forward.  In the way we approach the walk, there is a great deal of awareness, focus, intention, and humility cultivated...as well as fun and humor!  Getting too serious is just a different manifestation of a lack of humility, a form of pride that stems from insecurity...and a lesson I've gotten to engage with more times than my ego would like to remember :)
2. I am grateful for the continually growing willingness to trust intuitive flashes that are outside the box of what I may have some conscious knowledge or information around.  A more practical example is in treating the plantar warts on both of my big toes.  I've been getting flashes of keywords to google, an old book nestled in the back of my closet ("Back To Eden"), and other nudges around plant usage that I haven't seen any written materials about.  This morning these flashes were around specific essential oils to use, in particular, Frankincense.  When I googled the usage of Frankincense in wart treatment, there were entries speaking about successful treatment.  
3. I am grateful for the power of the spirit of Frankincense.  With so many uses and applications, the life-force of this plant contained in its plasma, it's resins, has the ability to awaken memories, open energy flows in the subtle systems, raise the energy of people and spaces to expansive and refined Awareness, as well as treating physical conditions.  Just this morning, I ran across a piece of information suggesting that it repairs damaged DNA, suggesting strong usages in releasing viruses from the DNA (where they take hold and replicate).  The DNA is the physicalization of one's karmic blueprint...all the thoughts, feelings, and actions taken in this and other lives are all recorded in the DNA.  Perhaps this is the physical correspondent to the famed akashic records said to have recorded all the history and future of All the manifest world.
4. I am grateful for my new subscription to National Geographic Magazine (thanks Mom!).  I'm completely geeking out on it.  The pictures are insane, and the articles are fascinating (like this month's focus on Bionics...they're actually hooking up bionic arms, eyes, ears, and more to peoples nervous system, and the brain is able to make these machines function the way the original human parts would have).
5. I am grateful for Facebook.  Yes, Facebook!  Really.  I am able to keep up on the lives of people I care about all around the world in meaningful and hilarious ways.  While it may not be the same as a live conversation, I feel like Facebook is one of the tools that shows how connected we all are, and gives ways to nourish and expand all those circles.  We haven't even begun to work into the power of collective wisdom, collective awareness yet...and it's already been great.  You get out what you put in.  Like a garden.  Maybe all of life reflects how we're willing to see it.

30 Days + of Gratitude ~ Day 25/26

1. I am grateful for the New Year's Eve Full Moon...and all the ways the Moon continues to teach me about mirrors...to see everything as able to reflect where I am at within myself.
2. I am grateful for the positive flow of energy that moves through creative expression...it's one of the best uses for the immense energy that gathers and collects, putting it to good use.  When I do not, I draw in situations that are not fun to engage with, tipped off by anger, fear, or sadness.  All energies worked with consciously can be fuel for creation.
3. I am grateful for all the people in my world mirroring infinite varieties of my own expressions.
4. I am grateful for all those who have come before me, lighting the way.
5. I am grateful for all those who have come before me and have felt stuck.  You are palpably cheerleading my walk.  I feel you.  I am grateful for the support.
6. I am grateful for the energy of Fire.  You are one of my closest teachers.  You continue to show me how to work with You in creative ways for expansion and upliftment.  You teach me about the power of respect and consciously approaching in humility.
7. I am grateful for the energy of Water.  You teach me how to be fluid, flexible, and trusting conduit.  You show me the strength in softness.
8. I am grateful for the energy of Air.  You teach me about clarity, effective movement, and release.  You show me ways of communicating that are full of power and free of aggression.
9. I am grateful for the energy of Earth.  You teach me about rooting deeply to expand into greater freedom.  You hold all of the elements in your balancing womb.  When I approach you with love in my heart, you show me that I can garden any seeds into bountiful harvest.
10. I am grateful to the muscles and connective tissues of my body.  You continue to grow and adapt to the needs of my spirit, and have put up gracefully with the demands of my ego.  I will nourish you more in the coming minutes, hours, days, months, and years ahead.